Two Kerala men forced to join war in Ukraine, to return soon: MoS

Two of the four people from Kerala, who were cheated by recruitment agencies and forced to engage in the Russia-Ukraine war, have been contacted by the Indian Embassy and are expected to return home soon, officials aware of the matter said.

Union MoS for external affairs V Muraleedharan told local media, “Their travel documents are being readied by the Indian Embassy in Russia. We are optimistic that they will be able to return home soon.”

The minister, who hails from Kerala, added that talks are ongoing with the Russian government to repatriate the two remaining persons from the state.

Prince Sebastian and David Muthappan, natives of Anchuthengu in Thiruvananthapuram district, are expected to be repatriated from Russia in the next few days. People aware of the matter had informed that Sebastian (24) was sustained injuries in the conflict in February and had undergone a surgery.

Family members of three men including Sebastian had told HT last week that they were approached by a job agent with the promise of lucrative jobs as security guards in Russia with a monthly salary ranging between ₹2 lakh and ₹2.5 lakh. The three youths flew to Russia in early January after paying the agent ₹7 lakh each but were shocked to find out that they had been tricked after landing there.

Instead of lucrative jobs, the three men were forced to undergo training for nearly a month with the Russian armed forces and subsequently deployed on the battlefront in Ukraine, they said. Sebastian was injured when a bullet scratched his forehead and a grenade exploded near him while in Ukraine.

In a similar case, the fourth man, David Muthappan was also lured on the pretext of jobs and deployed in the war zone in January.

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